After a record-breaking career which spanned 24 seasons, James Milner has announced his retirement from professional football.
The former Liverpool midfielder made his senior debut for Leeds away to West Ham in November 2002 and went on to set the all-time Premier League appearances record with 658, the last of which came in Brighton 's defeat to Manchester United eight days ago.
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The 40-year-old played in the English top flight in 25 consecutive calendar years and represented six different clubs in the division, winning the title twice with Manchester City and once with the Reds.
On Monday morning, Milner took to Instagram to announce that he's called time on an extraordinary playing career.
In excerpts from his legnthy statement, he took pride in the 'incredible privilege'of representing every club for which he played and bows out 'with immense pride, gratitude and memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life'.
The former Liverpool midifelder concluded: 'Football has given me far more than I could ever have imagined, and I will always be thankful for the opportunities it provided. Thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey.'
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It isn't just Milner's remarkable longevity which has come to define his playing career – it's also the elite attitude that he demonstrated, having been renowned for driving high standards in the dressing room and habitually conquering the dreaded pre-season lactate test at Liverpool.
In a tribute to his former Reds teammate after the Premier League appearances record was broken in February, Andy Robertson saluted not just the midfielder's mentality but also his brilliance as a footballer and his humility as a person.
The former England international has come to be regarded as arguably the greatest free transfer in LFC's history, having been snapped up after the expiry of his contract at Man City in 2015.
Liverpool were fortunate enough to be the club for whom Milner made more appearances (322) than any other, with the Merseysiders accounting for 35.7% of his 903-match career ( Transfermarkt ).
Within minutes of the news being announced, many Reds supporters have been clamouring for him to return to Anfield in a coaching capacity, and it's certainly a scenario that we'd welcome with open arms.
For now, he can rightly take immense pride in a phenomenal playing career in which he earned universal respect and admiration for his achievements on the pitch and his character off it.
